Vehicle buying guide (tips thread)

[West1 10+ year member]

I’m in the market to buy a new vehicle and was curious how people purchase their cars.

previous, I would use Cars.com and submit vehicle specific specs to local dealers. Waited for lowest offer and would fish around with that email. The last vehicle I purchased this way before cars.com fixed the system was a 2017 Honda Accord special edition in 2016. Sticker price was 32k and ended up paying 21.5k after patiently bargaining for 3 weeks.

I’ve purchased once and helped two people purchase this way.

The sales guys seem to have adjusted to this and are now asking for people to walk in.

So... How do you guys buy new/used vehicles?
Do you calculate a percentage based on year of vehicle if used? IE: a 1yr old vehicle should be 15% lower than the sale price of its year.

I am interested in the 2021 Yukon Denali, 2021Tahoe Premier or 2019-2020 used.

Looking for some tips since I can’t do it digitally anymore.

Tyvm

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[huberoy123 10+ year member]

I used the same method as you. Many Dealers were not happy, as it hampers their ability to overcharge you.
I used automobile sites and look for low and high prices. Then I decide how much I will spend, based on the options.

Have you considered having a trusted friend do the "digital" work? Or, are we going to be your trusted friends? LOL

 

[jt4x4]

I'm a gearhead, so most of my purchases are projects. I did buy a newer vehicle once, though.

My advice:
A lot of issues go away after the vehicle warms up. Insist on a cold start.
Buy a code reader. My innova cost $80.
Crawl under it and look for leaks.

It sounds like you are buying new enough that you shouldn't have issues (besides being an import).

Do you homework. Every vehicle has quirks. Find out common problems for the specific vehicle and what to look for.

 

[West1 10+ year member]

I used the same method as you. Many Dealers were not happy, as it hampers their ability to overcharge you.
I used automobile sites and look for low and high prices. Then I decide how much I will spend, based on the options.

Have you considered having a trusted friend do the "digital" work? Or, are we going to be your trusted friends? LOL

Im not looking for anyone to do my bargaining lol. I just figured I’d ask to see how others are making deals

I did run across a dealer who repair cars and sell them. I’ve never heard of car lots repairing vehicles and selling them. I seen a 2019 Denali with 15k miles that was in an accident, was rear ended and the outside was 100% body damage. Passenger air bag went off and was repaired. Fully functional and body color looks legit.
I’m tempted to put an offer, any Pros or Cons if mechanical is good with factory warranty void?

 

[John Doe]

I’m in the market to buy a new vehicle and was curious how people purchase their cars.

previous, I would use Cars.com and submit vehicle specific specs to local dealers. Waited for lowest offer and would fish around with that email. The last vehicle I purchased this way before cars.com fixed the system was a 2017 Honda Accord special edition in 2016. Sticker price was 32k and ended up paying 21.5k after patiently bargaining for 3 weeks.

I’ve purchased once and helped two people purchase this way.

The sales guys seem to have adjusted to this and are now asking for people to walk in.

So... How do you guys buy new/used vehicles?
Do you calculate a percentage based on year of vehicle if used? IE: a 1yr old vehicle should be 15% lower than the sale price of its year.

I am interested in the 2021 Yukon Denali, 2021Tahoe Premier or 2019-2020 used.

Looking for some tips since I can’t do it digitally anymore.

Tyvm

How tf did you get the price down by 10K??? That’s crazy..I’ve been thinking about getting a newer car but I don’t know anyone who knows how to negotiate lol...

 

[West1 10+ year member]

How tf did you get the price down by 10K??? That’s crazy..I’ve been thinking about getting a newer car but I don’t know anyone who knows how to negotiate lol...

by using cars.com. I would fill out a vehicle to specific trim and submit it to 3 local dealers. Backpage and send to the next 3 dealers. Did that for like 15 dealers on a spam email so I don’t get flooded on my main email.Use the lowest quote and forward it to all dealers who respond.
My wife tripped out on how I did it but it worked. Now they don’t send you quotes, they engage in conversation that ends up asking you to go in.
I SURE MISS THE OG CARS.com!! Lol

 

[huberoy123 10+ year member]

Im not looking for anyone to do my bargaining lol. I just figured I’d ask to see how others are making deals

I did run across a dealer who repair cars and sell them. I’ve never heard of car lots repairing vehicles and selling them. I seen a 2019 Denali with 15k miles that was in an accident, was rear ended and the outside was 100% body damage. Passenger air bag went off and was repaired. Fully functional and body color looks legit.
I’m tempted to put an offer, any Pros or Cons if mechanical is good with factory warranty void?

Lots of the used car dealers go to auctions to purchase vehicles, make needed repairs and sell them. I've gotten 2 good deals at auctions on second cars for my daughter. The only repairs needed were replacing 02 sensors, and of course, I have my mechanics look at the brakes and install new tires. I was fortunate for my first purchase, as they had a third party extended warranty representative on site. Got a 2-year warranty for $199, that covered drive train and electricals. Used it for 2 repairs that had a value of around $700. I know that will never happen again.

In your example, you are rolling the dice. The vehicle may last a lifetime or it may fail in months. If repairs are needed, you are responsible. If the vehicle is at a reputable dealer, you may be able to purchase an extended warranty.

Good luck.

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

I walk in with cash in hand. Find a vehicle that meets my criteria and offer cash. Always buy certified pre-owned. Something that just came off a low mileage 3 year lease. It will have the last 2 years of warranty and be under 45K miles. Let someone take the depreciation on the vehicle. Generally somewhere around 5K less is what I offer and have never been told no.

My last vehicle was a 2015 Nissan Murano Platinum. Has every feature for the year and was around $50K new. I purchased it off a 3 year lease with 30K miles on it for $20K. Even after owning it 2 years, its still worth $26K and has 2 months left on the 5 year warranty.

 

[rmsanger_2]

I hear Subarus are pretty great and their community of drivers seems pretty cool.

 

[THATpurpleKUSH 5,000+ posts]

I work for a dealer collection. 42 brands of whatever I want and no bs.


I would advise against buying anything that was in an accident no matter how minor it seems. Those repairs are done by the lowest bidder then the owners bring them to me with a christmas tree worth of dash lights wondering why it wasn't put back together correctly.

 

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

Buy the best body you can afford, no rust, no damage, etc. Install your own drivetrain.

 

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

I got my eye on a new Texas Edition Silverado with the Duramax diesel.

 

[West1 10+ year member]

Went with a 21 RST, couldn’t be happier with my purchase.

I used CarGurus.com and did a nationwide search based on my specs. Once I found results, I did a state taxes search. I personally liked Michigan since it was same tax as Idaho (6%). Once I called, the sales guy was your typical sales associate. In the end, the prices on CarGurus were based on GM employee discounts and that conversation lead to GM friends and family discount since there are many GM employees out in MI. After getting the friends and fam discount, I continued to press an additional discount since I knew the 3rd party shipping would be around 1100... in the end, it was about 7k off sticker price, 8days later... I got my SUV.

my 07 frontier has finally given me its last breathe and it was perfect timing!! I’ll be removing the amps and subs and posting them FS. The Tahoe however, I won’t be putting aftermarket stuff in it. I’ll definitely miss subbing hard!!

 

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

Good looking ride

 

[West1 10+ year member]

Good looking ride

Thanks bro! I got my Title in the mail today
I said I don’t want to put any beat in this but the Bose has very little bass, I might add a 10 or 12”.

if I used my current 2k rms amp with a 500-750 rms sub, would the amp only put out whatever I set it at?

im considering a single FI Audio w/stock everything, what’s the biggest I could go without having to upgrade ground/alt/batt/etc...